Question 71·Medium·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
Historian Lauren Marcus contends that the most trustworthy accounts of the 1903 Arcturus Expedition are the explorers’ own diaries. Because the entries were written daily, Marcus argues, they were recorded before memories faded and therefore preserve an unfiltered, chronological record of events. She maintains that these diaries allow modern scholars to reconstruct an accurate timeline and to correct later, sometimes embellished, newspaper reports.
Text 2
Literary scholar Kenji Sato cautions that personal diaries rarely offer a transparent window onto historical reality. His analysis of several nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century travel diaries shows that explorers frequently revised their journals after the journey, replacing terse notes with polished narratives that highlighted their bravery. Even entries written in the field, Sato observes, were often shaped by the authors’ wish to present themselves favorably to an imagined audience of family members or future readers.
Question
Based on Text 2, how would Sato most likely respond to Marcus’s reliance on the Arcturus Expedition diaries as authoritative historical evidence?
For cross-text connection questions, first summarize each author’s main point in a few words (for example, Marcus: diaries are trustworthy; Sato: diaries are shaped and not transparent). Then decide whether the second author would agree, disagree, or modify the first author’s view. Finally, scan the choices and eliminate any that misrepresent either author or introduce ideas not mentioned in the texts (like translation or topics not discussed), keeping the one that clearly reflects the second author’s stance toward the first.
Hints
First, pin down Marcus’s view
In Text 1, how does Marcus describe the diaries of the Arcturus Expedition? Does she see them as more or less reliable than other sources?
Then, pin down Sato’s view
In Text 2, does Sato think personal diaries give a perfectly clear picture of events, or does he warn about problems with using them as evidence?
Compare their perspectives
Would Sato likely agree with Marcus’s strong trust in the diaries, or would he caution Marcus about something? Look for an answer that reflects Sato’s warnings in Text 2.
Test each choice against Text 2
For each option, ask: Is this something Sato actually suggests or implies in Text 2? Does he ever talk about immediacy, value of bias, or translation, or does he focus on something else?
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify what Marcus believes about the diaries
Focus on Text 1. Marcus calls the explorers’ diaries the "most trustworthy" accounts and says they are an "unfiltered, chronological record" that lets scholars build an accurate timeline and correct embellished newspaper reports. That means Marcus sees the diaries as highly reliable, even more objective than other sources.
Clarify what Sato believes about diaries in general
Now look at Text 2. Sato "cautions that personal diaries rarely offer a transparent window onto historical reality." He finds that explorers often revised their journals after the journey and that even on-the-spot entries were shaped by a desire to look good to future readers. In other words, Sato thinks diaries are edited and influenced by self-presentation, not perfectly honest or transparent.
Decide if Sato would agree or disagree with Marcus
Marcus treats the Arcturus diaries as authoritative and unfiltered. Sato warns that diaries are rarely transparent and are often revised and shaped. Those two views clash: Sato would not simply accept the diaries as fully reliable; he would warn that they might be less trustworthy than Marcus claims.
Match Sato’s likely response to the answer choices
You need an option where Sato questions or pushes back against Marcus’s confidence in the diaries, and that mentions revision or shaping by the writers. Choice C says that Marcus overestimates the diaries’ reliability because explorers often revise or consciously shape their entries, which directly matches Sato’s cautions in Text 2. So the correct answer is: He would contend that Marcus overestimates the diaries’ reliability, since explorers often revise or consciously shape their entries.